Next summer we’ll get our first look at what’s expected to be a whopping six-film King Arthur series from Guy Ritchie. Knights Of The Round Table: King Arthur will star Charlie Hunnam as Arthur, with Jude Law, Eric Bana, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, and Djimon Hounsou also set to appear. Oddly enough, the film’s page on IMDb describes the plot as “the classic Sir Lancelot story,” though no casting for Lancelot has been announced yet. It may be that as the first of a planned six films, this will be something of an origin story in which Arthur and a mysterious Lancelot first cross paths. That being said, we don’t know a great deal about what this movie will look like. Proving that point is a recent story at VC Post, which contradicted the IMDb synopsis. The piece stated that this will be a story about an orphaned Arthur discovering his royal lineage after acquiring the sword Excalibur.

No matter which direction the plot takes, Knights Of The Round Table is an exciting project. And while the marketing campaign hasn’t quite started up yet, it seems as if the world of news and entertainment is already setting the stage for the big-screen comeback of fiction’s most famous knights. Pay attention and you’ll notice that medieval and knightly themes are suddenly everywhere.

Perhaps most noteworthy is the bizarre account that recently surfaced regarding a theory that ancient monks invented the King Arthur legend, which has never been clearly classified as myth or actual history. Some believe (as the 2004 King Arthur film suggested) that Arthurian legend stems from a Roman general stationed in Britain when it was an outpost of the Roman empire. Others believe the whole story is pure fiction. But Discovery recently wrote that a clan of medieval monks made up King Arthur legends to make their abbey appear mystical, and to raise cash. The same story says the monks decided to “draw on Arthurian legends” by creating a fake burial site, however, so the implication is that some version of King Arthur existed before these monks. They apparently just invented new stories.

It’s kind of amazing that King Arthur would surface in the news in such a major way roughly eight months before Ritchie’s film is to debut. But beyond this story, as mentioned, knight themes seem to be making a comeback in general. Perhaps the clearest indication of all is in the Internet gaming community, where knights, kings, and castles have come to dominate online casinos of late. As a way to attract new players, Gala Bingo offers VIP bonuses that even include access to an online “champagne room,” and once you’re actually into the games, you’ll find a lineup heavily influenced by medieval themes. Wild Knights: King’s Ransom, Kingdom Of Fortune, White Knight, and even Merlin are among the titles, all of which fit nicely into the lead up to Ritchie’s film.

And looking past both news and gaming, there’s the coming season of Game Of Thrones. Its first trailer was recently released, and it will essentially occupy the season leading right up to the summer release of Ritchie’s film. The two aren’t related in any way, of course, but it’s a fair argument that Game Of Thrones has made medieval adventure and warfare popular again for a whole new generation of movie, TV, and literature lovers. The upcoming season, in that way, will set the table perfectly for King Arthur: Knights Of The Round Table.

In all of those examples, there’s not a single piece of direct marketing for the Ritchie movie. But if nothing else, the film appears to have good timing, as the world seems to naturally be bringing knights to the forefront of our attention.